Today was an adventure, but we arrived safely in Haiti! When our plane touched down, the reality set in that we were about to spend a week serving and loving the people of this country. We made our way through customs, found our bags, and headed out the airport doors to meet the leaders from PPM. From there, we hopped on a bus, and headed straight for Life is Hope orphanage. The look on the kids faces when we walked through the doors is something we will never forget. They came running to us with open arms wanting to be picked up and loved. We spent a couple hours holding them, playing games, and singing songs. We then got back on the bus and headed to our lodging location to settle in and get some food. We are now tucked in to our beds, and about to enjoy our first night of sleep here in Haiti. Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to Worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. We will then head off to the new orphanage property and end the day back at Life is Hope with the kids again. Thank you for your prayers! We have made it and are so excited to be here!

Today we had the amazing opportunity to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. It is an experience that we will never forget. Two groups of people, from two different countries, united in worship, to the one true God. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we could see the passion for the Lord in the eyes of the Haitians we worshipped with. Following our worship service, we grabbed a quick lunch, and headed out to Life is Hope Orphanage. The kids were jumping up and down in excitement when we arrived! It gave us great joy to spend time with them for the short couple hours we had. Before ending the day, we traveled to the location where the new orphanage is being built. We were amazed at the beauty of the property and its surroundings. We took some time to pray over the property and the future that it holds. Tomorrow, we will begin work on the wall that will surround the property. We will also spend the afternoon at Life is Hope loving on the kids once again. Thank you all for your prayers!

Today we woke up to another beautiful Haitian sunrise. The natural beauty of Haiti is more than we expected. The beauty is evident in the towering mountains, coconut trees, and of course the people. We headed out to the new orphanage property right away this morning to begin the wall. We started off by distributing the 1,000 blocks that had been piled near the entrance. We stacked them near each section of the wall so that they could be easily accessible to the workers. While we were doing this, some of us broke off to assist the workers in actually laying the block. Slowly, sections of wall began to go up. It’s exciting to be a part of this beginning stage. After a few hours of work, another block truck showed up. We unloaded 500 blocks in record time!

After unloading the block truck, we had a late lunch, and then packed up to head to the orphanage. Once again, the kids were jumping up and down as we entered. They were so excited to see us, and we were so excited to see them. We spent time coloring with them, playing soccer, doing balloon animals, and simply holding them. Many of them fell asleep in our arms!

We are now back at the lodging facility, spending time in worship and reflecting on the day. We can’t wait for tomorrow. We will be heading out to the new property again to continue the wall. Then, at lunch time, we will welcome the children from Life is Hope at the property. This will be the first time that they have seen it. We are planning to serve them lunch, and then have a mini carnival for them. The carnival will include a slip-n-slide, kites, rock painting, and many games. Thank you all for your prayers! We are loving every minute in Haiti!

Here we are at Life is Hope.

Today we woke up to another day in Haiti. Many of us have been sleeping on the roof of the guest house we have been staying at, enjoying the stars and the cool breeze. There's nothing like a night under the stars in Haiti.

After a quick breakfast, we jumped on the bus and headed out to the new orphanage property. Today was carnival day. Before we welcomed the kids, however, we put in a few hours of work on the wall. Today was especially hot and windy, but we made sure to take many water breaks. The first half of the wall is finished and the second half will be started tomorrow.

At about 10:30, our bus left for the orphanage to pick up the kids. To prepare for them, we made a store run and picked up the lunch we were going to prepare. Hotdogs, watermelon, crackers, and bag juice were on the menu. The kids arrived at 11:30 as we were starting our Haitian charcoal that we had put in a shallow hole that we dug. We found a grate at the orphanage the day before, and propped it up on some blocks over the coals. As the hotdogs were cooking, we split the kids into three groups. A relay group, a soccer group, and a painting group. The kids loved it! When the hotdogs were ready, we called the kids in and had them sit down in a circle. We explained the process to them, and then lead them through the line to collect their lunch. They were so excited! After all the orphanage kids had received food, we invited the Haitian workers and neighborhood kids to join us as well. We had enough for all of us to have a meal together.

After the meal, the real fun began. We broke out the tarp, soap, and water and taught the kids what it means to slip-n-slide! They were a little hesitant at first, but after a while, they couldn't get enough!! They were lining up, laughing, adding more water and soap, and enjoying every minute! Many of our people joined in on the fun. It was a great relief from the heat.

Around 3:30, after a full day of working and playing in the sun, we loaded the kids up on the bus and waved goodbye as they headed back to the orphanage. We are sure that it is a day that they will never forget and neither will we.

Tonight, we had a great meeting as we reflected on the joy that we took part in today. Tomorrow we will return to the property to continue the wall before ending our day at the orphanage with the kids once again. Thank you all for praying!

We are half done with this section of the wall.

The kids were so good as they waited patiently for food!

Today was yet another wonderful day in Haiti. We are enjoying our time here so much, and we can't believe that it's almost over. Today we spent the first half of the day working on the wall at the orphanage property. We passed rocks for the foundation to be continued, and then poured a concrete band that stretched the length of the wall. The band goes down the middle of the wall, and helps to keep it strong. We were excited to finish this project, as it involved many, many buckets and a lot of teamwork.

Once again, we finished our day at Life is Hope orphanage. We played soccer, colored, allowed the children to play with our hair, sang songs, and prayed together. It was yet another wonderful time at Life is Hope with those precious children.

Tomorrow we will head back to the property for our last day to work. We are hoping to finish laying block on the section of wall that we started. We figured we have around 400 blocks to go. We will then end the day loving on the kids at Life is Hope. We can't wait!

Keep praying! We still have 2 more days in Haiti to be used by God.

Today was our last full day of dedicated ministry to the Life is Hope property and to the children of Life is Hope. We started off the day by heading out to the property to finish the wall section we started. We can happily say that the block is up! After completing our goal, we said our goodbyes and prayed with the workers. We will never forget them! We then headed off to the lodging location to get some food, before heading off to Life is Hope one last time. We spent 3 hours loving on the kids, and then brought them together to sing and pray with them. We then began our goodbyes as the tears started to flow. We will never forget these children and the joy that they have brought us. Even though we wished to stay longer to love on the children, it was time to go. We waved goodbye and got on the bus.

Tonight we worshiped and prayed with the team from Alabama for the last time. They will be heading home tomorrow, while we take a chance to experience some of the beauty of Haiti. We will spend a couple hours in the morning blessing the workers at the guest house by cleaning, and then we will head off to a local hotel near the ocean to debrief and talk about all that God has done.

Thank you all for your prayers!